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He said he used acting as a way of escaping the terror at home.

The X-Men star credits his English teacher Cecil Dormand with starting his career by putting him a play at the age of 12.

He said: 'The first time that I walked on stage in my school dining hall I felt safer than I had ever felt in my life. Looking back, the reason I was always so comfortable on stage - the reason I have never had stage fright in my life - is because the stage is where I live.'

Since finding fame on the British stage and on screen, Stewart has raised awareness on domestic violence and supports the charity Refuge.

He said the work is for his mother as she had nowhere to turn and the domestic violence charity would have given her 'an option or a choice'.

Stewart participated in a memorable Who Do You Think You Are in an attempt to understand what lay behind his father's violence.

First love: Stewart achieved worldwide fame in roles such as Star Trek's Jean-Luc Piccard, left, but has since returned to Britain to concentrate on the theatre in roles such as Macbeth, right

The actor now believes he suffered shell-shock and became increasingly bitter when his career declined following the war.

But despite this insight, the vivid memories of the violence remain.

Stewart said even as a child he was able to judge when a fight between his parents had got so bad that he had to intervene and put his body in between his parents.

He said: 'Now, it is really sad when a child becomes an expert on those kind of issues.'

After rising through the threatre ranks, Stewart found worldwide fame in America through his role as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek.

But he returned to Britain in 2004 to nurture his first love and saviour from his childhood home - the stage - and said the past eight years have been the happiest of his life.